Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Navajo Nation hit hard by diabetes

Eleven percent of the Ute Mountain Tribe suffers from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, The Cortez Journal reported. The rate is even higher on the Navajo Nation -- 20 percent are affected by the disease.

“I’d call it a crisis,” Rita King, the diabetes prevention manager for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, told the paper. "We don’t beat around the bush, telling the kids dialysis, chronic sickness, or an early death, is where you will end up if you ignore nutrition and exercise."

Both tribes encourage their members to change their lifestyles in order to avoid diabetes or manage the disease.